Vietnam - Viet Cong National Flag.

Vietnam - Viet Cong National Flag.
Little is known about the history of this Viet Cong flag. It was acquired, with no additional provenance, as a GI bringback from JS Military surplus at Moss Landing, California, in the 1970s.

The Vietnam War was a military conflict that occurred in Vietnam Cambodia and Laos. The war started after the end of the First Indochina War and it was a fight between North and South Vietnam. South Vietnam was supported by the US along with other countries that were anti-communist while the north of the country garnered support from China.

The Viet Cong played a notable role in the Vietnam War and they also went by the name of the National Liberation Front or NLF. The Viet Cong's most famous action was called the Tet Offensive during which time the group attacked over 100 urban regions in the south of the country in 1968 and the US embassy in Saigon was also attacked during this offensive.

Media from all over the world had their eyes on the Tet Offensive as the Viet Cong continued to wreak havoc in the south for many weeks. However, it didn't take long before the Viet Cong acknowledged that they had overextended themselves and in the future, other large offensives were led by North Vietnamese forces to avoid the same problem from occurring again. The Viet Cong was dissolved in 1976 as a communist government managed to gain control and unify South and North Vietnam.

This small flag displays the original "wide angle arms on the star and is most likely a flag from the early days of the Vietnam War. It is also likely that it was a trophy flag brought home as a war souvenir.

Text on tag attached to flag: "J&S Surplus Moss Landing"
Text on tag attached to flag: "Taken from NVA Emcampment 1970" Vietnam War.

Sources:

---

National Liberation Front (Vietcong), Flags of the World, 17 August 2012, from: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/vn-vcong.html

Vietcong, Wikipedia, 17 August 2012, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet_Cong

Ty Ninh, Wikipedia, 17 August 2012, from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay_Ninh

Caodaism, 17 August 2012, from:
http://www.wix.com/lamdathoa/intro/page-1

Củ Chi tunnels, Wikipedia, 17 August 2012, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%E1%BB%A7_Chi_tunnels

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection

Hoist & Fly
Width of Hoist	44
Length of Fly	33

Stars
Size of Stars	15

Stripes
Width of 1st Stripe	16.5
Width of 3rd Stripe	16.5
Width of Last Stripe	16.5
Size of Hoist	1.5

Frame
Is it framed?	no

Stars
Number of Stars	1
How are the stars embeded?	Sewn
Are there stars on obverse?	yes
Are there stars on reverse?	yes

Stripes
Number of Stripes	2
Color of Top Stripe	Red
Color of Bottom Stripe	White
Has a Blood Stripe?	no

Nationality
Nation Represented	Vietnam

Fabric
Fabric	Cotton

Stitching
Stitching	Machine

Attachment
Method of Attachment	Sleeve

Documentation
Documents	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.
Drawings	All original documents and drawings are held in the Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Condition
Condition	Good
Damage	Faded
Displayable	yes

Date
Date	1970